Method and device for processing sound signal for communications device

• US 10,204,639 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2017
• Issued: 02/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honor Device Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wang, Zaishang, Zhang, Xin, Gao, Guangyuan, Zhang, Xianfeng, Zhang, Guoquan
• Primary Examiner(s): Albertalli, Brian L
• Application Number:
  US15/413,509
• Publication Number:
  US 20170133032A1
• Time in Patent Office: 749 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02165 Two microphones, one receiving mainly the noise signal and the other one mainly the speech signal
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0232 Processing in the frequency domain
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/034 Automatic adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0364 for improving intelligibility
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/19 Arrangements of transmitters, receivers, or complete sets to prevent eavesdropping, to attenuate local noise or to prevent undesired transmission; Mouthpieces or receivers specially adapted therefor circuit arrangements for preventing eavesdropping H04M1/68; telephone cabinets E04H1/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6008 in the transmitter circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 9/082 using echo cancellers echo cancellers per se H04B3/23
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/01 Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

A method and a device for processing a sound signal for a communications device, where a relationship between values of a volume of a first sound signal collected by a main microphone and a volume of a second sound signal collected by an auxiliary microphone is acquired by comparison, to determine a sound signal processing policy, and according to the sound signal processing policy, a sound signal to be sent to a peer communications terminal is determined, where the sound signal processing policy is used to ensure that a volume of the sound signal to be sent to the peer communications terminal exceeds a preset volume threshold.

Claims

1. A device for processing a sound signal for a communications device, comprising:

a main microphone configured to collect a first sound signal;

an auxiliary microphone coupled to the main microphone and configured to collect a second sound signal;

a receiver coupled to the main microphone and the auxiliary microphone and configured to acquire the first sound signal collected by the main microphone and the second sound signal collected by the auxiliary microphone;

a processor coupled to the receiver and configured to determine a sound signal processing policy according to a relationship between values of a volume of the first sound signal and a volume of the second sound signal, the sound signal processing policy being a first sound signal processing policy when the volume of the first sound signal is less than the volume of the second sound signal, the first sound signal processing policy comprising determining whether the volume of the second sound signal is greater than or equal to the preset volume threshold; and

a transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to;

determine, according to the sound signal processing policy, a sound signal to be sent to a peer communications terminal, the sound signal processing policy ensuring a volume of the sound signal to be sent to the peer communications terminal exceeds a preset volume threshold;

send the second sound signal collected by the auxiliary microphone to the peer communications terminal when the volume of the second sound signal is greater than or equal to the preset volume threshold; and

increase the volume of the second sound signal to be greater than or equal to the preset volume threshold and send the second sound signal whose volume is increased to the peer communications terminal when the volume of the second sound signal is less than the preset volume threshold.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the sound signal processing policy based on whether the volume of the first sound signal and the volume of the second sound signal are both greater than or equal to a minimum volume threshold, the minimum volume threshold being less than the preset volume threshold.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the minimum volume threshold is 20 decibel (dB) and the preset volume threshold is 40 dB.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first sound signal comprises a sound signal produced by a person and the second sound signal comprises an ambient noise signal.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the preset volume threshold is based on a decibel value of an indoor conversation.

6. A device for processing a sound signal for a communications device, comprising:

a main microphone configured to collect a first sound signal;

an auxiliary microphone coupled to the main microphone and configured to collect a second sound signal;

a receiver coupled to the main microphone and the auxiliary microphone and configured to acquire the first sound signal collected by the main microphone and the second sound signal collected by the auxiliary microphone;

a processor coupled to the receiver and configured to determine a sound signal processing policy according to a relationship between values of a volume of the first sound signal and a volume of the second sound signal, the sound signal processing policy being a second sound signal processing policy when the volume of the first sound signal is greater than the volume of the second sound signal, the second sound signal processing policy comprising;

performing acoustic filtering between the first sound signal and the second sound signal, to obtain a third sound signal; and

determining whether a volume of the third sound signal is greater than or equal to the preset volume threshold; and

a transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to;

determine, according to the sound signal processing policy, a sound signal to be sent to a peer communications terminal, the sound signal processing policy ensuring a volume of the sound signal to be sent to the peer communications terminal exceeds a preset volume threshold;

send the third sound signal to the peer communications terminal when the volume of the third sound signal is greater than or equal to the preset volume threshold; and

perform a volume amplification processing operation to increase the volume of the third sound signal to be greater than or equal to the preset volume threshold and send the third sound signal whose volume is increased to the peer communications terminal when the volume of the third sound signal is less than the preset volume threshold.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the transmitter is further configured to perform the volume amplification processing operation to increase the volume of the third sound signal by:

decreasing the volume of the second sound signal; and

performing acoustic filtering between the first sound signal and the second sound signal whose volume is decreased to obtain the third sound signal whose volume is increased.

8. The device according to claim 6, wherein the transmitter is further configured to perform the volume amplification processing operation to increase the volume of the third sound signal by:

increasing the volume of the first sound signal; and

performing acoustic filtering between the first sound signal whose volume is increased and the second sound signal to obtain the third sound signal whose volume is increased.

9. The device according to claim 6, wherein the transmitter is further configured to perform the volume amplification processing operation to increase the volume of the third sound signal by:

decreasing the volume of the second sound signal;

increasing the volume of the first sound signal; and

performing acoustic filtering between the first sound signal whose volume is increased and the second sound signal whose volume is decreased, to obtain the third sound signal whose volume is increased.

10. The device according to claim 6, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the sound signal processing policy based on whether the volume of the first sound signal and the volume of the second sound signal are both greater than or equal to a minimum volume threshold, the minimum volume threshold being less than the preset volume threshold.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein the minimum volume threshold is 20 decibel (dB) and the preset volume threshold is 40 dB.

12. The device according to claim 6, wherein the first sound signal comprises a sound signal produced by a person and the second sound signal comprises an ambient noise signal.

13. The device according to claim 6, wherein the preset volume threshold is based on a decibel value of an indoor conversation.

14. A device for processing a sound signal for a communications device, comprising:

a main microphone configured to collect a first sound signal;

an auxiliary microphone coupled to the main microphone and configured to collect a second sound signal;

a receiver coupled to the main microphone and the auxiliary microphone and configured to acquire the first sound signal collected by the main microphone and the second sound signal collected by the auxiliary microphone;

a processor coupled to the receiver and configured to determine a sound signal processing policy according to a relationship between values of a volume of the first sound signal and a volume of the second sound signal, the sound signal processing policy permitting one of increasing or decreasing one of the volume of the first sound signal or the volume of the second sound signal, the sound signal processing policy being a third sound signal processing policy when the volume of the first sound signal is equal to the volume of the second sound signal, the third sound signal processing policy comprising;

decreasing the volume of the second sound signal;

performing acoustic filtering between the first sound signal and the second sound signal whose volume is decreased, to obtain a fourth sound signal; and

determining whether a volume of the fourth sound signal is greater than or equal to the preset volume threshold; and

a transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to;

determine, according to the sound signal processing policy, a sound signal to be sent to a peer communications terminal, the sound signal processing policy ensuring a volume of the sound signal to be sent to the peer communications terminal exceeds a preset volume threshold;

send the fourth sound signal to the peer communications terminal when the volume of the fourth sound signal is greater than or equal to the preset volume threshold; and

perform a volume amplification processing operation to increase the volume of the fourth sound signal to be greater than or equal to the preset volume threshold and send the fourth sound signal whose volume is increased to the peer communications terminal when the volume of the fourth sound signal is less than the preset volume threshold.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the transmitter is further configured to:

decrease the volume of the second sound signal; and

perform the acoustic filtering between the first sound signal and the second sound signal whose volume is decreased, to obtain the third sound signal whose volume is increased.

16. The device according to claim 14, wherein the transmitter is further configured to:

increase the volume of the first sound signal; and

perform the acoustic filtering between the first sound signal whose volume is increased and the second sound signal, to obtain the third sound signal whose volume is increased.

17. The device according to claim 14, wherein the transmitter is further configured to:

decrease the volume of the second sound signal;

increase the volume of the first sound signal; and

perform the acoustic filtering between the first sound signal whose volume is increased and the second sound signal whose volume is decreased, to obtain the third sound signal whose volume is increased.

18. The device according to claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine whether the volume of the first sound signal and the volume of the second sound signal are both greater than or equal to a minimum volume threshold; and

perform the operation of determining the sound signal processing policy according to the relationship between values of the volume of the first sound signal and the volume of the second sound signal, the minimum volume threshold being less than the preset volume threshold.

19. The device according to claim 18, wherein the minimum volume threshold is 20 decibel (dB) and the preset volume threshold is 40 dB.

20. The device according to claim 14, wherein the first sound signal comprises a sound signal produced by a person and the second sound signal comprises an ambient noise signal.